Drawstring for trouser legs



Dec. 4, 1945. J. DE GRAZIA DRAWSTRING FOR TROUSER LEG S Filed Sept. 30, 1944 IN VEN TOR.

De GI'Oj'I/Cb emwmz Kf IP/YEV Patented Dec. 4, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlce (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 6 Claims.

The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by orfor the Government for government purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to trousers g nera y, ut is more particularly intended for use with trousers to be worn during military operations; More specifically, the invention relates to a means for closing the bottoms of trouser legs about the ankles of the wearer.

In military operations, it very frequently happens that the men are exposed to extremely cold temperatures such asoccur in the arctic regions as well as the hot temperatures of the equatorial sections. Also, there is the ever-present threat of mosquitoes and other insects, particularly in the warmer climates.

Means for closing the bottoms of trouser legs so as to protect the wearers legs from the cold, and insects, and to facilitate the insertion of his legs into boots, etc., have been heretofore provided, but these prior attachments have not proved entirely satisfactory, partly because of the unsightly appearance of the trousers when drawn tightly about the ankles of the wearer and partly because the attachments were exposed to view even when not in actual use, thereby further detracting from the appearance of the trousers. The earlier devices, also, were so constructed that they presented serious difficulties to the wearer in making the desired adjustments.

One of the primary objects of the present invention resides in the provision of an extremely simple and inexpensive attachment for trousers, which is entirely invisible when the trousers are worn in the conventional manner, and yet which may be easily and quickly manipulated by the wearer himself so as to close the trouser legs about his ankles.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a trouser leg attachment which will function to first gather in the surplus material at the rear of the ankle and then bring the front por tion of the trouser leg into closeand snug engagement with the front portion of the ankle.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a closing means for trouser legs which. is not only easily accessible but also one which is practically foolproof in operation.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of such a closing means which employs no buttons or other fragile elements which are liable to become broken or to interfere with the proper care of the trousers, such as laundering, pressing, etc.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical-sectional view through the lower portion of a trouser leg in which the present invention has been incorporated.

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the attachment, parts of the trouser leg being cut away for the sake of clearness.

Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, the section being taken, however, at an angle of to that of Figure 1, and,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the lower portion of a trouser leg associated with the wearers leg, the bottom 'of the trouser leg being closed.

Referring to the drawing more specifically, the numeral 1 indicates a representation of the lower portion of a trouser leg, such as dress trousers, khaki-trousers, overalls, etc. Insofar as the general structure of the trouser leg is concerned, it is identical with conventional structures and includes side scams 2 and an inner hem 3 located at the extreme lower end of the trouser leg. And advantage is taken of this conventional hem 3 to provide a mounting for the novel tape or drawstring construction which will now be described.

The drawstring is indicated by the numeral 4 and is positioned between the walls of the hem 3, with its mid-portion secured tothe front of the trouser leg as by stitching 5, or the like. By thus anchoring the mid-portion of the drawstring, two branches are provided, and these branches extend rearwardly from the point 5 along opposite sides of the trouser leg, around the back thereof and forwardly on the other side of the trouser leg to the middle or seam portion of that side of the trouser leg.

The inner wall of the hem is provided with a slit-like opening 6 through which the ends of the twobranches i of the drawstring extend to the interior of the trouser leg. The ends of these branches may be provided with any suitable form of stop to prevent the ends from receding into or being inadvertently drawn back into the interior of the hem, and in the present embodiment these stops are provided by the formation of knots 1 formed in the material of the drawstring itself.

It will be noted that each branch 4 of the drawstring extends throughout one side of the trouser leg and halfway around the other side, so that the total length of the tape is approximately one and one-half times the circumference of the bottom portion of the trouser leg. Thus, when the trousers are used in the ordinary way, such as indicated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the tape or drawstring is almost entirely enclosed within the walls of the hem, and that portion which extends outwardly through the slits 6 is of such small dimensions that it remains suspended above the lower edge or bottom of the trouser leg so that the trouser le gives every appearance of the conventional trouser leg.

As mentioned above, the present invention has for its primary purpose to provide a simplified and inconspicuous means for closing the lower ends of trouser legs against cold, wind, insects, etc., and in Figure 4 the trouser leg is shown as closed about the ankle of the wearer by means of the present improved construction. In this operation, the wearer merely takes hold of the ends I of the two branches of the drawstring and pulls them forwardly. As the branches of the drawstring are pulled through the slots 6, the rearward portion of the trouser leg will be drawn up into folds or gathers at each side of the ankle rearwardly of the ankle bone, as indicated in Figure 4, and finally the front portion of the trouser leg will be smoothly flattened against the front portion of the ankle. This concentration of the folds or gathers at the rear portion of the ankle and the smooth spreading of the front portion of the trouser leg over the front of the ankle is due to the fact that the drawstring is fixed to the trouser leg at the front thereof, and the branches 4 extend freely around the back, so that as the branches are drawn through the slots 6, the force is first applied to the rearward portion of the trouser leg, nd it is only after the material is drawn into a size, approximating that of the ankle, that the forward portion of the trouser leg is drawn to and smoothed across the front portion of the ankle.

Certain highly important advantages are derived by concentrating the folds or gathers at the rear portion of the ankle, while leaving the front portion entirely smooth and fiat against the front portion of the wearers ankle. In the first place, the trouser leg in its gathered condition presents a much more pleasing appearance when the front portion is plain and smooth, as shown in Figure 4, while the gathers are concentrated at the rear portion of the wearers leg. And in the second place, it may be mentioned that the fleshy portion of the ankle is at the rear in contrast to the presence of the ankle bone at the immediate front of the ankle, so that the relatively rough and irregular gathers of the trouser leg are pressed against the fleshy portions of the ankle rather than against the tibia or ankle bone. It will be apparent, therefore, that any extra pressure applied to the ankle will be applied to that portion thereof which will cause the least discomfort to the wearer.

The present disclosure of the invention is what I now consider to be the preferred form, but since various structural changes may be made within the spirit of the invention, it is intended that such changes be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a trouser leg provided with a hem at its bottom, a tape or the like mounted in the hem, means for securing the mid-portion of the tape to the trouser leg at the hem portion, the two branches of the tape being threaded through the hem at the respective side of the trouser leg, across the back and partly around the opposite side thereof, thence through the inner wall of the hem to the interior of the trouser leg.

2. In a trouser leg provided with a hem at its bottom, a tape or the like mounted in the hem and secured at its mid-portion to the front portion of the hem, each branch of the tape being extended backwardly through the hem at one side of the trouser leg, across the back and partly around the opposite side thereof, and thence passing through the inner wall of the hem to the interior of the trouser leg.

3. In a trouser leg provided with a hem at its bottom, a tape or the like mounted in the hem and secured at its mid-portion to the bottom of the trouser leg to provide two branches which are threaded through the hem at the respective sides of the trouser leg and through a portion of the hem at the opposite side thereof, the inner wall of the hem being provided with opposed slits through which the free ends of the tape extend to the interior of the trouser leg.

4. In a trouser leg provided with a hem at its bottom, a tape or the like mounted in the hem and secured at its mid-portion to the bottom of the trouser leg to provide two branches which are threaded through the hem at the respective sides of the trouser leg and through a portion of the hem at the opposite side thereof, the inner wall of the hem being provided with exit slits at the side seams of the trouser leg, through which the free ends of the tape extend to the interior of the trouser leg.

5. In a trouser leg provided with a hem at its bottom, a tape or the like mounted in the hem and secured at its mid-portion to the bottom of the trouser leg to provide two branches which are threaded through the hem at the respective sides of the trouser leg and through a portion of the hem at the opposite side thereof, the inner wall of the hem being provided with exit slits at the side seams of the trouser leg through which the free ends of the tape extend to the interior of the trouser leg, the length of each branch of the tape being only slightly greater than three-quarters of the circumference of the lower portion of the trouser leg, whereby the ends of the tape will be positioned on the interior of the trouser leg above the lower edge thereof.

6. In a trouser leg provided with a hem at its bottom, a tape or the like mounted in the hem and secured at its mid-portion to the front portion of the hem to provide two branches which extend rearwardly through the hem at the respective sides of the trouser leg and forwardly along the opposite side thereof to the trouser seam, the inner wall of the hem being provided with slits at the seams through which the ends of the tape extend to the interior of the trouser leg.

JOSEPH DE GRAZIA. 

